One, Two, Three
by ezria.babe
Summary: Five years after their breakup, Aria and Ezra are unexpectedly brought back together with the help of one very special four-year-old. (Ezria) Rated T just for the possible occasional curse word.


**Hey guys! So this is my first FanFiction and I'm super excited! I know that the show is over, but I finally decided to write/post! I hope you enjoy this story! Because it is my first story, I would love if you guys could review that way I know your thoughts! I guess I have to do a disclaimer here! I don't own Pretty Little Liars or any of the characters, except for Evie! If I did own the characters/Pretty Little Liars, the series would** **still be going & Aria and Ezra would have their own movie! -Sophia**

 **Ezra**

Ezra was in the middle of having a spectacular dream when he was pulled from his sleep. He blinked several times, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes and adjust to the lack of light in the room. When he could finally open his eyes, Ezra noticed his four year old daughter sitting on top of him. "Daddy, you're up!" She exclaimed excitedly, but quietly. "Evie? What are you doing up, Monkey?" A barely awake and confused Ezra asked softly. "Daddy, today's the day I go to school! I hafta get ready!" Evie reminded her father, slightly bouncing up and down with the copious amounts of energy she had. Ezra turned so that he could check the time on his phone. 5:18 am.

"Evie, sweetheart, it's still dark out. School doesn't start for another couple of hours." He explained to his daughter. In response, the four year old stopped bouncing and the smile dropped from her face. Evie was so excited to start school that she could barely wait another second to start the day. Ezra noticed his daughter's sudden change of attitude and quickly decided it was best to distract her before she got too upset. "Why don't you cuddle with Daddy, and before you know it, it will be time to get up and get ready for kindergarten." He suggested. Evie immediately crawled under the comforter and made herself comfortable in her Daddy's warm embrace. She laid her head on Ezra's chest and listened to his heart beat as he wrapped his arms around her tiny body. In less than ten minutes, both Ezra and Evie had fallen back to sleep.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Ezra was once again woken up, but this time he felt more well-rested. He quickly turned off the alarm that was going off on his phone and gently climbed out of bed so that he wouldn't wake Evie up. He couldn't help but admire his daughter and think about how lucky he was to have her in his life. Ezra pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before heading into the bathroom. After a quick shower, Ezra brushed both his teeth and hair and made sure he was clean shaven. By the time he was finished, he could hear a soft knock on the door. "Daddy, are you in there?" Evie asked softly. Ezra responded and opened the door so that his sleepy four year old could walk in.

"Morning, Monkey!" He said cheerfully as he scooped his daughter up. Evie wrapped her tiny arms around her daddy's neck and kissed his freshly shaven cheek. "Morning, Daddy." She greeted him, still waking up. "Today's school?" Ezra smiled and nodded. Evie was so excited to start school, he on the other hand was slightly more nervous that his baby girl was growing up so quickly. His answer made Evie perk up right away. "Why don't you go head to your room and I'll be there in a minute to help you pick an outfit?" Ezra suggested so that he could change into some clothes instead of just a towel. "'Kay Daddy!" Evie exclaimed as she jumped out of his arms and took off running to her bedroom. Ezra followed as soon as he put a shirt and pants on.

When Ezra entered Evie's bedroom, he found her standing at her closet, trying to decide on an outfit she should wear. Her adorable face scrunched up in frustration when she couldn't find anything suitable to wear for the very important occasion. Ezra couldn't stop himself from chuckling, which earned him a look from his daughter. He took a step towards the closet and spotted a grey-blue pinstriped dress with grey knee high socks draped on a hanger. "What about this, Monkey?" Ezra asked his daughter, who looked at the dress for a moment. " That's perfect daddy!" She said approvingly, which made Ezra smile. He laid the hanger on her daybed while Evie grabbed a pair of grey flats from the floor of her closet. She made sure the outfit was perfectly laid out before running downstairs to the kitchen so that Ezra could make her breakfast.

"What do you want to eat, Sweetpea?" Ezra asked his daughter, who paused to think. "Do we have 'nola and yogurt?" she asked from her spot at the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Yes we do, want fruit?" Evie nodded, and Ezra started to make breakfast for the two of them. Twenty minutes later, both father and daughter were done, and Ezra put their dirty bowls in the sink. As soon as she was done, Evie ran back upstairs while Ezra started to make lunch for both him and her. For himself, he put together a roll with leftover chicken cutlets, tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar. For Evie, he made her a turkey sandwich with cheese and tomato. In addition, he placed apple slices, cookies and a juice box in her monogrammed unicorn lunchbox.

As soon as Ezra was done packing lunches, Evie came back downstairs fully dressed. In addition to the outfit that they had picked out, she also came downstairs with a blue beaded necklace and a grey bow in her hand. "Daddy, can you help me?" She asked with wide eyes. Ezra smiled and lifted Evie so that she was sitting on the island. He carefully placed the necklace around her neck, alongside the locket he had gotten her last year. Inside was a picture of the two of them when Evie was a year old, and the other side was empty so that she could put a picture of whoever she wanted when she wanted to. Ezra also gently clipped the bow into her hair so that it prevented hair from covering her face. "Gorgeous!" He said and pressed a kiss to her little nose which made Evie giggle.

Ezra Lifted the four year old off the counter and carried her to the living room. "I'm going to go change into my work clothes, are you okay down here by yourself for a few minutes?" Ezra asked his daughter. Evie nodded and climbed onto to couch to watch some television. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head before going upstairs to change. He quickly pulled off his pajamas and threw them in the laundry hamper. He stood in his closet in just his briefs trying to decide what to wear. He decided on a pair of navy blue slacks with a light blue button down and a navy blue tie to make the outfit to look more professional. Once he put his socks and shoes on, he headed back downstairs to find Evie. She was watching _Peppa Pig_ on the television and giggling wildly at something _Peppa_ had done. He looked at the cable box and saw that it was already 8:00 am. Waverly Elementary started at 9:15 am and was about a twenty minute cab ride away so Ezra wanted to leave within the next twenty to thirty minutes.

"Evie, sweetheart, Daddy wants to take some pictures of you before we start leaving for school." Ezra told his daughter. Yes, he was one of those dads who took pictures and videos of every moment, but Evie soaked up the attention and loved posing for pictures. He started to snap away as Evie made different faces and different poses. Evie also had a sign that said Evie's First Day of Kindergarten and the date. On the poster it also listed all of her favorites, her age, her graduating year, her teacher, her school, and what she wanted to be when she grows up. It was a gift from Hardy and Carlie and Ezra made his daughter pose with it so that he could send a picture to his friends. By the time he was done, it was nearly time to get going. "Okay, Monkey! It's time to go to school!" Ezra announced to his little girl who started jumping around excitedly. Ezra couldn't help but laugh at his daughter and press a loud, obnoxious kiss on her cheek, she was just too cute. She quickly grabbed her monogrammed unicorn backpack and slung it over her shoulders. Even though the backpack was small, it was bigger than Evie's petite torso and made her look so tiny. "Daddy, can you carry me?" Evie asked, giving her father the best puppy dog eyes that she could muster. Ezra, who was so obviously wrapped around his daughter's pinky finger, obliged and scooped his daughter off the ground.

Five minutes later, Ezra and Evie left their brownstone and were heading off to Waverly Elementary School.

 **Aria**

Meanwhile, fifteen blocks south on the east side of Manhattan, Aria Montgomery jumped out of bed, excited to start her very first day of teaching. It wasn't what most people expected her to do, but for one class during her sophomore year, she volunteered in a second grade class and fell in love with the profession. Besides, she could write on the side anyways. After quickly making her bed, Aria grabbed the outfit she had laid out the night before and headed into the bathroom to start getting ready.

About fifty minutes later, she emerged wearing a white short sleeved blouse tucked into a knee-length watercolor skirt that flared out. She also put on a coral colored statement necklace to make the outfit pop. Even though she was twenty-two, Aria still had her eccentric sense of style that only she could really look good in. Her she pulled her hair pack into a half up half down style and curled her hair into ringlets that fell just below her shoulder. Her makeup was light, and the gold eye shadow she wore made the green in her eyes pop. Aria stood in front of the mirror for a solid fifteen minutes, making sure that she looked absolutely impeccable for her first day of teaching.

Once she was finished getting ready, Aria wandered into the kitchen and made herself a quick omelet that she could eat before heading off to Waverly Elementary. She was definitely nervous, as she was starting a new job, but Aria knew deep down that teaching was the perfect job for her and that everything would be okay.

While she was eating, her phone buzzed with several messages.

 _Spencer Hastings_

 _Good Luck on your first day! You're gonna be the best kindergarten teacher in all of Manhattan! By the way are we still on for a girl's night at your place this Friday? -S_

 _Emily Fields_

 _Hi, Ar! Good Luck today, although you don't need it in the slightest! Let us know how it goes & we're super excited to see all of you guys on Friday! -Em & Ali_

 _Hanna Marin_

 _Hey babes! Ready for the first day of teaching rug-rats? Don't stress you'll do great! We have to do lunch this week and catch up. It's been entirely too long since I've seen you! And I'm super excited for Fri-YAY! I'll bring drinks! XO -Hanna_

 _Mike Montgomery_

 _Good luck today! You're gonna kill it! Hope that you're taller than at least some of the kids! -Mike_

Aria couldn't help but smile because of the various messages from her friends and brother. It made her happy to know that they were thinking of her. Even after five years of being apart because of college, all of the girls were still super close. Living in the same city really helped with that. Spencer was a lawyer at a firm downtown, Emily was a swimming coach and athletic trainer at a very talented swim company, Ali worked at an adoption agency, and Hanna owned her own fashion label and boutique on the Upper West Side. She quickly typed out responses to everyone, telling the girls that she was excited to see them on Friday, and telling Mike to come visit her when he was in the area because she missed him.

She finished eating rather quickly and started to prepare the lunch that she was bringing to school, which consisted of a grilled veggie wrap and a small fruit salad to snack on. She put the food into a small lunchbox that fit into her nude oversized bag. By the time she was finished with everything, it was nearing 8:15 am and she had to get going if she wanted to get there early to greet her students. Aria grabbed everything she needed before slipping on a pair of nude heels and running out the door and towards Waverly Elementary. She made it onto the subway just before the doors closed and found a seat. She popped in her headphones and put her music on shuffle as the train lurched forward and started taking her to her destination.

 **Ezra**

For the first fifteen minutes of the taxi ride, Evie could barely contain her excitement. She was filled with energy and would not stop talking about all the things she was excited to do at school. Ezra, on the other hand, was getting more nervous by the second, but put on a brave face for his daughter. Once they had made it to W 96th street, which was eight blocks from Evie's school, she became extremely quiet. The realization hit her that she was actually going to kindergarten and was no longer going to attend the preschool at Columbia, where her daddy worked. Even though he'd be a mere twelve blocks away, she was terrified. "Daddy, I changed my mind. I don't wanna go to kindergarten." She whispered, tucking her head into the crook of Ezra's neck. Ezra smiled, knowing that her reaction was completely normal, and even though he was nervous as well, he was going to make this transition as smooth as possible for her.

"You were so excited about kindergarten three minutes ago, what changed?" He asked, trying to elicit a response from his daughter. But Evie kept her had buried herself into Ezra's warm, safe, and loving embrace. "Evie, look at Daddy." He softly prompted his daughter, who after a minute met his gaze. Tears pooled in her sapphire-colored eyes and Ezra swore his heart broke into pieces. "Why don't you want to go to kindergarten, Monkey?" He asked again. His daughter paused for a moment, "What if nobody likes me?" she asked quietly, breaking Ezra's heart into even smaller pieces. Evie was only four and already, she was concerning herself with the notions that nobody was going to like her. Ezra gave her an encouraging smile. "Evie, sweetpea, nobody could never not like you. You are gorgeous, and smart, and kind, and everybody is going to want to be your friend." He assured his daughter, who seemed to accept his answer. "But Daddy, I'm going to miss having lunch with you." She told him. When she attended the pre-school run by education students at Columbia, he was able to stop by at least three days a week to eat with Evie.

Ezra smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple and pulled the four year old into a hug. "I'm going to miss you too Evie-bug, but you're going to have so much fun playing on the playground with your new friends that you'll forget all about me." He told her, trying to mask the sadness in his voice. Evie pulled away from the embrace and looked at him with a stern expression on her face. "Daddy, don't say that, I could never forget about you!" She scolded him, which made him smile. "I'm sorry, Monkey. Won't say it again." He apologized, holding out his pinky to his daughter. She linked her tiny pinky finger with her larger one and pressed a soft kiss to his finger to seal the promise. Ezra returned the favor, as they pulled up to Waverly Elementary.

"This is it." The gruff voice of the taxi driver broke the cute little moment between the father and daughter. Ezra smiled at the nervous four year old as he pulled out a ten dollar bill from his wallet and passed it to the driver. "Thanks." He said as he helped Evie out of the car while making sure they had all of their belongings. Evie looked at the ginormous brick building with wide eyes, how was she going to find her way around the big building all by herself. Standing outside there were a bunch of monitors surrounded by a swarm of their children and their families. "Daddy." Evie whimpered, tears filling her eyes. She was obviously overwhelmed by the amount of kids that were surrounding her, considering her preschool only consisted of about twenty kids total. Ezra scooped his daughter up and his four year old daughter close and trying to console her. After about ten minutes, her sobs subsided into quiet sniffles here and there. Once she was calm enough, Ezra walked towards the tables where the monitors were standing, all with friendly smiles on their faces.

"Hi, I'm checking in Eva Fitz." He said to a young blonde woman who was wearing a white flair dress with red polka dots on it and a nametag that said Miss Carson on it. "Hi!" She kindly greeted both father and daughter as she scanned the list for Evie's name. "Ah, found it! You have a very beautiful name Miss Eva." Rachel Carson said to the little girl, trying to lift her spirits. Evie looked up at her father before turning back to Rachel and whispering a soft thank you. Miss Carson smiled before pulling out a sharpie and a blank nametag so that she could write Evie's name down. "I'm going to write down a name tag for you so that your teacher knows your name. Do you have a nickname that you would like to be called by?" She asked the young girl. From a few years of experience, Rachel found that if she explained what was going on to the child in detail, that they tended to feel less nervous at the start of the day.

Evie looked up at her father with wide eyes. "Why don't you tell Miss Carson what your nickname is?" Ezra prompted his daughter, silently assuring her that it was okay to talk to the woman, who was technically a stranger. "My nickname is Evie. And you spell it like E-V-I-E." The four year old said a little bit louder and slightly more confidently. Although she was still very nervous, the little girl was beginning to open up. Rachel looked slightly shocked that the four year old knew how to spell her own name because most kids her age weren't able to until they were a month or two into kindergarten. "Wow, you know how to spell your own name? I'm impressed! Can I have a high five?" Rachel exclaimed, extending her hand so that Evie could give her a high five, which she did. Ezra smiled as he watched his daughter become more comfortable with her surroundings. Rachel quickly wrote 'Evie' as well as the name of Evie's teacher on the index card before handing it to Ezra. "Okay, Miss Evie. You're gonna wear this on your shirt so that everyone knows you're in Miss Montgomery's class." The monitor told the little girl, but when she said the words Miss Montgomery, Ezra instantly pictured the tiny brunette he had fallen madly in love with a few years ago. Even though they had been apart for nearly five years now, he was still infatuated with her. So much so that he hadn't dated anyone else since. And yes, he knew he was pathetic.

Evie's voice broke him out of his thoughts, "Daddy can you help me clip this to my shirt?" She asked. Ezra's cheeks heated up and he helped his little girl with her nametag. "Is Miss Montgemermee my teacher?" She asked, mispronouncing the name which made Ezra laugh. "Yes, Monkey." He told her, not bothering to correct her. Montgomery was a complicated name for a four year old and he doubted that she could pronounce it right anyways.

"I'm in Miss. Mongomermee's class too! My name Is Hailey!" A little girl who was checking in besides them introduced herself. She didn't seem to be nervous in the slightest although her mother was holding her like Ezra was holding Evie. "Hi, I'm Evie!" She introduced herself to Hailey without Ezra even having to prompt her. Hailey flashed her new friend a huge smile. The little girl had a dark complexion, dark brown eyes, and long black curly hair that reached the middle of her back. "Okay, you guys are all set! When you guys are ready you can head to the entrance, and a faculty member will be there to direct your daughters to their classroom." Rachel said to both Ezra and Hailey's mom. Ezra nodded his head and thanked her for her help while Evie waved goodbye. Once they were out of the registration line, Hailey's mom held her hand out for Ezra to shake. "Hi, I'm Keisha Baker, Hailey's mom." She said kindly. Ezra shook her hand using the hand that he wasn't holding Evie with. "Ezra Fitz, Evie's dad. Nice to meet you." He greeted her. While they were introducing themselves, the girls were chattering away about Disney princesses. While they were walking towards the school entrance, they bumped into another little girl who was in Evie and Hailey's Class. Her name was Willow and her mother's name was Holly.

After talking to Keisha and Holly for a few minutes, Ezra looked down at his phone and saw that it was nearing 8:50 am and that he was going to have to leave soon if he was going to make it to Columbia by the time his first class started. "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation girls, but Evie, Daddy wants to take some pictures of you to send to everyone, okay?" He told his daughter who nodded. "'Kay, Daddy!" She said as he set her down on the floor. Holly and Keisha used the time to snap more pictures of their daughters as well.

"Ooh, what about a few pictures of the three girls?" Holly suggested, as she wanted to record every moment of Willow's life, just like Ezra did with Evie. Both Ezra and Keisha agreed and began to take pictures of their three little girls. They did all kinds of poses and silly faces which made all three of the adults laugh at their antics. Ezra took one final picture of the three girls who had their arms around each other and they were giggling like crazy. From the way they acted, you would have thought the three girls had known each other their entire lives instead of just twenty minutes. "Ezra, do you want me to take a few pictures of you and Evie?" Keisha asked. Ezra nodded gratefully and handed his phone to her. "Hey Monkey, wanna take a picture with Daddy?" He asked the four year old who fervently nodded in response. Keisha took a whole bunch of pictures of Ezra and Evie, and he thanked her profusely as she handed him his phone back. When he looked down at the clock, nearly ten minutes had passed and Ezra knew It was time for him to make his departure. Without exchanging words, all three parents had decided it was time to leave, because staying any longer would only delay the inevitable and make it harder on the girls.

"Evie, sweetheart, Daddy has to leave now." Ezra softly told his daughter as Keisha and Holly told their daughters the same. Evie's eyes widened and tears threated to spill over once again. "I don't want you to leave Daddy!" She told him, holding onto his neck tightly. Yes she was having fun with Hailey and Willow, but she wanted her Daddy to stay with her. "But you're going to have so much fun in kindergarten, plus you have two new friends to play with." He assured her. Despite the fact that he didn't really want to leave his daughter either, he read that it was important to stay upbeat and positive for Evie's sake. "Will you come back to get me?" She asked softly, genuinely scared that her Daddy wouldn't come back to pick her up. Ezra chuckled and kissed her nose, "Of course I'll be back to pick you up! I'd be so lonely without my Monkey!" He told the little girl honestly, "Pinky promise." Ezra added, holding up his pinky finger. Evie smiled and interlocked her pinky with his for the second time that day. Once the promise was made, Ezra pulled his daughter in for a hug and pressed his lips to her forehead. He was so focused on his little girl that he didn't even notice Aria Montgomery walking right past him and up the stairs into the school.


End file.
